1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transfer installation for piece goods, in particular for ISO containers, including a warehouse having individual linear storage modules and a loading installation which extends transversely of the storage modules and is intended for land-going means of transport.
2. Description of the Related Arts
For transferring ISO containers between different means of transport, for example ships, railroad vehicles or trucks, use is made of loading installations which have to ensure as far as possible disruption-free piece-goods transfer with high throughputs. The essential constituent part of a container-transfer installation is usually a warehouse which isolates the piece-goods streams and thus ensures that the various means of transport are served as required. Serving the various means of transport as required with the correct quantities requires the design of the overall transfer installation to be optimized in terms of piece-goods streams.
DE 44 39 740 C1 discloses a transfer installation of the generic type for ships, railroad vehicles and trucks. The essential constituent part of this transfer installation is a container warehouse. The container warehouse comprises a plurality of individual line-like storage modules in which use is made of in each case one storage crane for storage and retrieval purposes. Operating between the ship and warehouse are container bridges which are connected to the warehouse via transporting pallets moving on carriageways. Transfer also takes place to land-going means of transport, such as trucks and railroad vehicles. Whereas the sea-based transfer process between ship and warehouse is large automated and, accordingly, can be made to take place rapidly, for adaptation thereto, i.e. for ensuring a piece-goods flow which is uniform overall, the transfer between warehouse and the land-based, land-going means of transport can only be effected with increased outlay on the part of the loading installations used here. A reason for this is that this transfer process, on account of the manually maneuvered land-going means of transport, can only be automated to a limited extent. On account of the as far as possible manual transfer process, it is necessary to observe relevant safety guidelines (for example to prevent collision and falling of the loads), which conflict with the transfer operation being carried out as rapidly as possible.
The object of the present invention is thus to provide a loading installation for land-going means of transport within a transfer installation which, with safety regulations being observed, ensures rapid transfer with minimal outlay on the part of the loading installations.
The invention includes the technical teaching that a loading installation for land-going means of transport comprises at least two ground-level loading stations for means of transport, to which is assigned in each case one intermediate buffer store which is arranged on the second level, located above the means of transport, and has at least one storage location. From the intermediate buffer store, the respectively associated means of transport is loaded/unloaded via corresponding loading cranes. The intermediate buffer stores are connected to one another and at least one of the two buffer stores is connected to the warehouse via a storage and retrieval unit.
The in to this extent multi-level loading installation allows flexible transfer to various land-going means of transport without separate loading installations being necessary, for example for railroad vehicles and trucks. This reduces the outlay on the part of the loading installation. By virtue of the intermediate buffer stores, which are arranged on the second level and are connected to one another, the arrival rate and service rate of the piece goods which are to be transferred are isolated from one another, with the result that rapid transfer is ensured. The multi-level structural arrangement of the loading installation makes it easier to observe the relevant safety regulations since loading regions and traveling regions for the manual means of transport are precisely demarcated.
The storage and retrieval unit is advantageously arranged in relation to the loading installation such that, bypassing an intermediate buffer store provided as the interface with the warehouse, the storage and retrieval unit, functioning directly as a loading crane, can serve a loading station, preferably for trucks. This measure makes it possible to achieve rapid transfer since the other means of transport and storage integrated in the loading installation are not utilized.
It is advantageous if the transfer transporter used for connecting the intermediate buffer stores to one another is a fully automatic gantry crane which is arranged on a bridge on a third level, located above the intermediate buffer stores, of the loading installation. This arrangement makes it possible for piece goods to be transported between the intermediate buffer stores by a means of transport which is of straightforward configuration and is integrated in the loading installation. In addition to the transfer transporter configured as a gantry crane, it is possible to use a low-level rail-borne satellite carrier vehicle which interacts with the gantry crane and, for transporting the piece goods, is provided with lifting equipment.
A further invention-improving measure for ensuring low-disruption operation consists in providing a service vehicle which is arranged on the third level of the loading installation and by means of which the storage and retrieval unit can be transferred from one storage module to a further, parallel storage module or can be transported to a service station. The service vehicle makes it possible, for example, to transport the defective storage and retrieval unit to a service station in the event of disruption and to replace it by an unused storage and retrieval unit instead to continue operation. The service vehicle thus allows flexible use of storage and retrieval units. The service vehicle is preferably of crane-like design in the manner of an angled crab which has two parallel carrying arms with end load-bearing means which interact with corresponding points of attachment on the storage and retrieval unit. Alternatively, it is also possible for the service vehicle, as a bridge vehicle, to comprise a shuttle which runs on a bridge with railways and can be coupled to the storage and retrieval unit. In this case, the railway of the bridge is located on the same level as a railway of the storage and retrieval unit, with the result that the two railways can be coupled. The shuttle is advantageously battery-operated and can be charged in a parking position on the bridge. Furthermore, a diesel-electric drive is also conceivable.
A further invention-improving measure resides in the fact that the loading and unloading station for trucks is arranged relative to the associated intermediate buffer store, which is located on the level located above the trucks, such that the safety-critical region above the driver""s cab of the truck is located directly beneath the intermediate buffer store and thus outside the loading region. A falling load thus cannot pose a threat to the driver""s cab of the truck since it is moved outside this safety-critical region. For executing the loading operation for a truck manually, it is possible to provide a checker""s cab which is arranged beneath that end region of the intermediate buffer store which is directed toward the loading station. In order to ensure an unobstructed view of the loading crane and truck, the checker""s cab can advantageously be displaced horizontally, transversely to the storage modules. It is also operationally possible for the loading operation to be transmitted, by monitoring cameras, to a control center and controlled remotely from there.
A further invention-improving measure which may optionally be provided resides in the fact that an additional gantry crane is provided, as transfer transporter, to follow the railroad-based intermediate buffer store, and beneath the loading crane, and has a railway which is arranged on the same level as the railway of the intermediate buffer store and can be coupled to the same. It is likewise possible to arrange a further intermediate buffer store at that end of the additional gantry crane which is located opposite the railroad-based intermediate buffer store. These measures may be taken as appropriate, depending on the necessary transfer parameters, in order to optimize the piece-goods transfer.